At this point if you haven’t heard, the Falcons plan to use the screen game more in 2012.

The Falcons’ offense last season was at the bottom of the league in screen plays and based on what most players said during OTAs and minicamp this offseason, that will change this coming season. Under new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, the screen game will be more of a factor than in recent seasons and most players are excited about it.

We’ve heard from starting running back Michael Turner, who calls it a twist on what they’ve done in the past. Jacquizz Rodgers, who many believe has the most to gain from and contribute to the screen game says the offense has “a lot of screens in store” and he looks forward to being a part of it.

One of the running backs we haven’t heard much from about the impending short-passing game is Jason Snelling. Like the other backs, he’s happy there is a wrinkle in the offense that plans to get the ball in his hands in ways other than a hand off.

“It’s the opportunity to get the ball in my hands,” Snelling said during June’s minicamp. “All the backs are working on the screen game because you want to make sure you can do it against any type of team. It doesn’t matter who we play and it’s only going to make the offense better. We’re real excited about it and we’re real excited about the direction of the whole offense.”

Snelling’s 26 receptions were tops among Falcons running back last season. His 44 catches in 2010 also led the running back group. In his five-year career with the Falcons, he’s accumulated 108 receptions for 830 yards with five touchdowns. When the Falcons have turned to a running back out of the backfield in the passing game in recent seasons, they’ve looked to Snelling.

Even though he’s established a rapport with quarterback Matt Ryan, Snelling said he and the other backs have been working even more on that with Ryan during this offseason.

“It’s real important, working on the timing a lot,” Snelling said. “We’ve been working on the timing a lot. It’s going to come with repetition. I feel like when it’s time to do it, we’ll be ready.”

Snelling’s all-around game has made him a valuable part of the Falcons team since his emergance as a real factor on offense in 2009. He re-signed with the Falcons this offseason and he doesn’t expect anything to change. His versatility is a important for the Falcons. He can be used as a fullback in addition to his role as a running back to both run and catch reliably out of the backfield. He’s also a key contributor on special teams.

While the name of the play caller has changed this offseason, Snelling doesn’t think his role as a do-everything type of player will change.

“I’m the type of guy that will do whatever they want me to do,” he said. “That’s what you have to do in this league. I’ve made my career doing that and none of that has changed with the coordinator.”

It's going to be interesting to see the screen pass back in the Falcons offense. Like Warrick Dunn, Jacquizz Rodgers has the potential to really excel in that role. It was something he did with great ability at Oregon State. Snelling is no slouch there, but Rodgers has the ability to create when there isn't much to create with, while a player like Snelling is going to need better execution from his blockers.

It's going to be interesting to see the screen pass back in the Falcons offense. Like Warrick Dunn, Jacquizz Rodgers has the potential to really excel in that role. It was something he did with great ability at Oregon State. Snelling is no slouch there, but Rodgers has the ability to create when there isn't much to create with, while a player like Snelling is going to need better execution from his blockers.

With all the "press" the Falcons are getting with the screen pass added to the offense, you'd think they've re-invented the wheel.One thing that is becoming concerning to me.....if Turner is not going to be involved in the screen game, I'd imagine defenses will be "looking out" for it every time Snelling or Rodgers enters the game. One of those two has to become an established runner first.....

It's going to be interesting to see the screen pass back in the Falcons offense. Like Warrick Dunn, Jacquizz Rodgers has the potential to really excel in that role. It was something he did with great ability at Oregon State. Snelling is no slouch there, but Rodgers has the ability to create when there isn't much to create with, while a player like Snelling is going to need better execution from his blockers.

With all the "press" the Falcons are getting with the screen pass added to the offense, you'd think they've re-invented the wheel.One thing that is becoming concerning to me.....if Turner is not going to be involved in the screen game, I'd imagine defenses will be "looking out" for it every time Snelling or Rodgers enters the game. One of those two has to become an established runner first.....

Such concerns could have been mitigated had the team cut a certain someone and replaced him with a player like Peyton Hillis, who can actually be an effective screen back as well.

Random thought, if we continue more and more no huddle, how does Ryan use Turner effectively in the new O for an entire drive? Probably can't right? I think Quiz and Snelling are gonna get a lot more carries than we think, and MT becomes more of a short yardage option.

Random thought, if we continue more and more no huddle, how does Ryan use Turner effectively in the new O for an entire drive? Probably can't right? I think Quiz and Snelling are gonna get a lot more carries than we think, and MT becomes more of a short yardage option.

Or......despite all the hype and smoke blowing, things remain pretty much the same. Three yards and a cloud of dust. Smitty has to prove he can change and not just say words we want to hear.

Or......despite all the hype and smoke blowing, things remain pretty much the same. Three yards and a cloud of dust. Smitty has to prove he can change and not just say words we want to hear.

I am actually in the camp now that I think he's realized that run based O is a dinosaur. I've seen enough direct quotes to think we're not using the same old O from prev seasons. However, how much change is more the question now I think (ie. 5% more passing +-, more no huddle, more vert, more screens....all those are potential positives imho).

Personnel trumps scheme, IMO. What you do schematically is determined by whether you have the personnel to do it. If you want to throw deep, you need vertical threats at WR and TE. If you want to be a ground and pound team, you need a RB and OL that can do that.

widetrak21 wrote:

I am actually in the camp now that I think he's realized that run based O is a dinosaur. I've seen enough direct quotes to think we're not using the same old O from prev seasons.

Even if Smith does realize this, then they don't really have the personnel to do it. They have just 4 wide receivers (Gonzo, Roddy, Julio, and Harvey), and if one of them gets hurt, they are screwed because their passing game won't be good enough to sustain the offense unless Julio goes off. They'll have to go back to heavily relying on Michael Turner.

The offense will be different, but how different? It's been said that Koetter is doing a lot to adapt his system to what we previously ran, trying not to change the verbiage of the offense. So I don't think it's a revamp. It's more tweaking than everything.

Even if Smith does realize this, then they don't really have the personnel to do it.

Well step one was admitting you had a problem. Hopefully we've accomplished that this offseason, although your last stmt does make me wonder more now (where did you read that?). Turning a battleship from ground/pound to passing no huddle def takes more than one offseason considering some of the personnel moves TD either did or didn't do.

Q. Do your responsibilities change [in the new offense] in terms of play calling or verbiage?

A. You know one of the things they try to do, this staff coming in, they tried to use the same verbiage where all of us on offense didn’t have to re-learn new terminologies. They just kind of adjusted their schemes and their terminologies to what we were doing so it’s been an easy adjustment.

Everything that this team has said and done this off-season has suggested more of a tweaking than a revamp. They did everything from a personnel standpoint to not upset the "core" of the team. They wanted to keep the same players. They have hired offensive coordinators, and rather than scrapping their old playbook and installing a brand new one, they are doing more integration. Nolan isn't installing a 3-4 or even a true hybrid, he's installing a 4-3 with some 3-4 principles.

Everything this team has done since 2010, was to tweak what was currently done with the mind that it was a few modest tweaks away from winning a championship. This off-season and the new coaches are no different. I think that is the wrong assessment, but we'll see what happens this year...

Another thing worth noting is how far are the Falcons going to go away from the run, when they used their 5th round pick on a run-blocking fullback? Either the Falcons overdrafted their fullback and we know that cannot be the case because Thomas Dimitroff can do no wrong or they drafted Ewing understanding that they will still remain a run-oriented offense.

Everything the Falcons did personnel-wise this off-season suggests a recommitment to running the football, but everything out of their mouth suggests that they will be embracing more passing. Which is it? If you wanted to be more of a pass-first team, then why is the only offensive FA you signed a run-blocking guard in Manuwai? Why then are you first 3 picks of the draft used to beef up your run blocking? Why then do you dump your best run blocker in Ovie? Why are all of the TEs you added to the roster blockers first?

Where is the direction of this team headed? In January/February, they talked about being balanced. But now in June/July, they are talking about throwing more. Which is it?

Random thought, if we continue more and more no huddle, how does Ryan use Turner effectively in the new O for an entire drive? Probably can't right? I think Quiz and Snelling are gonna get a lot more carries than we think, and MT becomes more of a short yardage option.

Or......despite all the hype and smoke blowing, things remain pretty much the same. Three yards and a cloud of dust. Smitty has to prove he can change and not just say words we want to hear.

Just playing Advocate Devil here, but lets say you were going to use Quizz more, Snelling more and even M Turner catching screen passes....Would it make sense to tell all your competition about it, or try a little deception? Im not saying this is the case, but is it in the realm of possibility?

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